Lever-locking device.



C. RySAUNDERS.

LEVER LOCKINGDEVICE.

APPLlcA-loN FILED JUNE 2.1913.

.Llwm- Paten-bed Jan.11,1916.

' SHEETS-SHEET 2.

einen anion.

CHARLES RfsAUnDnns, or LAKEWOOD, oHIo.

Meteen.

To all whom imag concern.' Y

Devices,- of whichthe following is a full,

had'to thelaccornpanying drawings. f l. Thisinvention relates generallyto locks for leversof various kinds, such, Ifor.inv

stance, as the gear shifting levers of auto mobiles, the. throttlelevers of locomotives,

the controller levers of electric railway cars,

or the brakelevers of vehicles; andywhile the lock is adaptable to allof the foregoing types of levers,it is to a lock for the first mentionedclass of levers that my invention particularly relates and' to whichthis application has special reference. y The objects' of my inventionare to provide a lock ofthe above class Awhich yery strong, yet simpleof construction fa d nomical of production; which ima quickly and easilyattachedto variousgfrms of levers, which is adaptable to practically allstandard makes of automobiles; a lock` wherein the means of attachmentare 'con-z cealed' and protected when the lock is? secured to its lever;and a lock which is. neat and attractive in appearance and which may bevery conveniently operated'tovvv lock theV lever. i v y The object of myinvention, more broadly stated, is to provide means for locking the4gearshiftinglever of an automobilein ine'ective position in' order Y toprotect the automobile against being stolen or tampered with, and theinvention may bedefined, generally, as consistingof the combinations ofelements set forth in the vannexed claims and shown in the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment thereof andv'wherein--- i y Figure l is a side elevation ofmy lock Vapplied to thegear shifting lever of an autcmobile, only a portion of the lever beingshown in said figure, the view ofthe sector ing to the line l-l of Fig.l3 fFig. 2 isa central vertical section through the parts shown in Fig.1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the' line 8 8 of Fig. l and lookingin the drection ofthe arrows; Fig. 4 is a view,-

" LEVER-nomme nnvrce.

Sne'ci'cfatio pf Letters Patent. Patented Jan. M, 11946K Application medreime, isla?? serial no. 771,222. l

,similar to Fig. 2, and showing the parts in Be it known that I, CHARLEsR. SAUNDERST a citizen'of the United States, residing at' `Lakewood, inthe county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new??and `useful Improvement in'Lever-Locking l *ofpt'he lock removed fromthe lever, and showing theside ordinarily covered by the lever when thelock is attached thereto, a

jptienilof each of the views being broken away ,to disclose the latchmechanism; Fig. clear, and`.eXact description, reference being 7`is asectionalA detail onthe line 7-7 of Figs. l'and'giand Fig. 8 representsa side elevation of a modified formv of my lock.

VDescribinglmy invention-by the use of referencecharacters, similar onesbeing used to designatecorresp'onding parts throughout the severalgviewsof, the drawings', l represents thegear shifting lever ofanfautomobileand2gthe sector or `gate which guides it in its movements. As willbeseen clearly from Fig. 3, the slot 3 in the gate or sector 2 isHI-shaped, and the cross ofthe H represents the space occupied by thelever l when the Vsame'is in neutral or dead position.

4.'Aelateral shiftin of the lever from this po- 1 4-sition will not eect the engagement of the ,'gearsybut any movement in either directionfrom this 4central position will throw the gears into mesh and make itpossible to run the automobile, three of the branches of the slotrepresenting slow, medium and high speed forward, respectively, whilethe other branch represents the low speed reverse. To protect theautomobile against being run,

therefore,it is only necessary to secure the lever l against movement ineither direction from the central position, and for this purpose lfprovide the form of lock ,which l will now proceed to describe.Preferably to that side of the lever l which faces toward the driversposition, l secure a plate 4 by means lof screws 5, the screws 'passingonly part Vway throughthe lever l to protect them against beingtamperedV with, which would be possible if the screws or theholes'therefor .extendedpentirely through the lever. Extending from theside of the plate 4 opposite the lever l, are vertically spaced lugs 6and 7,' the former of which projects vfrom the central portion of theplate and the latter from its lower edge. The lugs v6 and 7 and theplate 4 are preferablycast integral and, together, comprise what l willrefer to hereinafter as the stationary member of Vmy lock, and which lwill designate 8.

A sliding member 9, which is made in the form of' a casing and surroundsthe stationary member 8, is secured to the former membei" by a rod 10which passes through a hole in the top wall 11 of' the member 9, throughholes in the members 6 and 7 which are in axial alinement .with thefirst mentioned hole, and terminates in a hole formed in the bottom wall12 of the sliding member 9 'where it is secured in place by a pin 13which, after being driven in place, is smoothed off Hush with thesurface of the member 9 and finished in a manner to coficeal itsidentity,-a method which is referred to in mechanics as blind pinning.Depending from the lower end of the sliding member 9 is a lug 14 whichis of a thickness somewhat less than the widthl of the branches of theslot 3. This lug is adapted to be projected into the slot 3 when themembers are in locked position, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. Acomparatively heavy coil spring 15 surrounds the upper end of the bolt10 and is confined between the inner surface of the top wall 11 ofthemovable member-9 and the adjacent wall of the .lug 6 of thestationary member 8. This spring tends to eleyate the member 9, or inother words, to return the parts to unlocked or normal position whenthey are released by the latch, which I will now describe. Projectingfrom one side of the sliding member or casing 9, near its upper end, isa cylindrical boss 16 having a longitudinal bore 17 which opens into theinterior of the casing 9 at its inner end and which is closed at itsouter end by a plug 18 which is blind pinned in position. Adapted toslide within the bore 17 is a bolt of plunger 19 which is generallycylindrical in shape but has the greater part of one of its sides cutaway to provide a space7 for a purpose which will be mentionedhereinafter and which results in the formation of a shoulder 20. Acompression spring 21 is confined between "the plug 18 and the near endof the plunger 19, and the opposite end of the plunger is flattened onits upper edge and has its lower edge inclined or tapered upwardly toform the nose of a latch for coperation with the lug 6 of the stationarymember 8 of the lock.

An enlargement of the boss 16, which is located intermediate the outerend of said boss and its junction with the member 9, is provided with atransverse cylindrical bore for the accommodation of a lock 22 of theYale type, which I have shown in my drawings only in a general way, itbeing deemed unnecessary to illustrate it further,

24 which occupies the space lin advance of` the shoulder 20 of theplunger 19 and is adapted to coperate with said shoulder.

In attaching my lock to a lever, the stationary member 8 thereof isiirstsecured to the lever by the screws 5, split 'washers 25 of ordinary typebeing used between the heads ofthe screws and the adjacent wall ofthe'plate 4 to prevent the member 8 from becoming loosened through thejarring of the vehicle.- The sliding memberl or casing 9 is then placedover the stationary member and the spring 15 is inserted between itsupper wall and the lug 6 of thestationary member, the upper end of thesliding member or casing being tilted away from the lever a sufficientdistance to'permit of such insertion. The rod 10 is then insertedthrough the alining holes in the two members of the lock and through thespring 15 and is secured in position by the pin 13 which is smoothed offand finished after it is inserted for the purpose of concealing itspresence, as hereinbefore mentioned.

When the driver desires to lock his car, he throws the gear shiftinglever in neutral or dead position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and,placing his foot upon the top of the movable member 9 of the lock,presses it downwardly until the nose of the plunger 19 rides over theadjacent edge of the lug 6 and snaps thereunder through the influence ofthe spring 21. This operation projects the lug 14 into the slot 3, andsince the aggregate thickness of the lever 1 and the lug 14 is greaterthan the width of the branches of the slot 3 all but a verylslightlateral movement of the lever 1 is effectively prevented. Tounlock the parts, an appropriate key is inserted int'o the key hole ofthe lock 22 whereby the barrel 23 thereof may be rotated. Upon suchrotation of the barrel 23,

spring 21, out of' engagement with the lug 6,

thus permitting the `sliding member 9 of the lock to rise under theaction of the spring 15 and withdraw the lug 14 from the slot 3.

`F rom the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided asimple and substantial mechanism for securely locking the gear shiftinglever 'of an automobile in the 'neutral or dead position within its gateor sector, and which requires the use of a key only for the purpose ofunlocking it, it being locked by the simple operation of pressing itdownwardly into effective position wherein it is securely held againstdisplacement.

In Fig. 8-I have shown a modified form of my lock that is adapted foruse with levers -whichv are not laterally shiftable, but which may belocked in any angular position by the coperation of the toothed face ofthe lug 14 of the lock with the complementary limit of movement, andmeans carried by the casing for releasing said bolt.-

, 2. In a device of the characterl set. forth, the combination, With abase, of acasing reciprocably mounted on said base, means normallyholding the casing awayfrom the cooperating object, s aid casing beingpro'- vided 'With a transverse bore, a bolt or plunger slidably mountedin said bore and adapted to engage a portion of the b ase to retain thecasing in operativerelation` to such object, a spring for forcing lsaidbolt 'or plunger toward the cooperating part of the base, and a lockcomprising a rotatablev barrelhaving a projection adaptedto engage.

the bolt or plunger to Withdraw it from en` gagement Withthe cooperatingportion of the base.

3. In a device of'the'character set forth, the combination, With a baseor support, of a locking member reciprocably mounted on the baseor'support and having a lug or extension, a spring adapted to move thelocking member-in one direction, a projection carried by the base orsupport, a bolt carried by the locking member and adapted to engage suchprojection and to hold the lock,- ing member in locking relation to itscooperating object, and means for retracting said bolt. y

' 4. In a device of the character set forth, the combination, With abase having a lateral projection, of a casing reciprocably mounted onsaid base, a bolt in said casing extending through said projection andguiding the casing on said base, a spring surrounding the bolt andengaging said projectio-n and a portion of the casing and tending tomove the casing` away from .the cooperating object, a locking lug orextension carried by the casing and adapted to engage such object, abolt carried by the casing and adapted to engage the projection, aspring tending to move the bolt toward the projection, and means forretracting saidbolt.

5. vIn a -deviceof the character set forth, the combination, with asupporting base, of a casing slidably mounted on said base, a springWithin the casing adapted to -move the same away from its cooperatingobject, said casing having a lug or extension adapted to engage the saidobject, a loclr carried by the casing and comprising a rotary barrel, aiinger projecting'from the barrel, a

bolt Within the Ycasing adapted to be engaged by said finger, aprojection carried by the base to retain the casing in engagement withsaid object, and a spring pressing the bolt toward said projection.

6. Ina device of the character set forth, the combination, With a baseplate having a pair of projections, of a boltlsli'dably mounted in saidprojections, a casing rigidly connected with said bolt and having alocking portion, a spring Within the casing and interposed between oneof the said projections and the casing and tending to hold the casingout of engagement With the cooperating object, a. bolt-mounted Withinthe` casing, a spring Within the casing pressing said bolt toward one ofsaid projections, and means for retracting said bolt.

7. In a device of the character set forth, the combination, With asupporting base, of a casing reciprocably mounted on said base, a springWithin the casing and normally holding the same out of engagement With acooperating object, a bolt carried by the casing .adapted to engage aprojection of thc base When the said casing is in operative relation tosaid object, a spring Within the casing tending to move the bolt intobase-engaging position, and means Within the casing for retracting saidbolt.

8. The combination, With a baserlaaving one or moreprojections, of abolt slidably mounted in 'said projection or projections, a casingcarriedlby the bolt and surrounding and inclosing the base, a springsurrounding the bolt and bearing against a projection of the base andthe casing, a bolt Within the casing adapted to engage a projection Whenthe casing is moved against the action of the spring, and means forretracting said bolt.

9. rIhe combination, with a base, of a bolt reciprocably mounted in saidbase, a casing secured to said bolt, a spring surrounding base'and atits other end against the casing, means for holding the casing inoperative relation to thel object to be locked, and a releasing deviceJfor the last mentioned means.

10. The combination of a locking block adapted to be slidably mounted ona lever, a

lock 4mounted inthe block and movableY 110. the bolt'andbearing a`t oneend against the f f tion, and into the hollow of which the pro- Intestimony whereof, I hereunto a'x my j ecton exten1ds,bzt slprngdbetweenfszlig prosignature in the presence of two wtnes'ses. jocton :1nd tie'loc i, ten ing to li t t e lat- N ter, und a lock mounted in the hollowof the 1 (JHARLES -R' SAUNDERS' block und having a locking memberengagelVtnesses:

able with said projection to prevent move- JOHN B. HULL, ment of theblock. HUGH B. 'MGGILL

